Matthew Patrick Smyth transforms a challenging space in a former Manhattan
warehouse into a stylish urban oasis for ELLE DECOR's Designer Visions. Plus: Learn more about Designer Visions

The Living Area

The Living Area

ELLE DECOR: What were the particular issues you faced with this project?MATTHEW PATRICK SMYTH: The building, 250 West Street, is a former warehouse that dates from 1906 and was selected by Hearst for its Designer Visions showhouse program. It’s the last structure before the Hudson River, but this is a middle unit, with windows on only one side facing a side street, so light is an issue. As in all conversions, the developer, the ELAD Group, inherited certain structural elements that just can’t be eliminated, like columns and bearing walls. This apartment includes a room that is big enough to be a third bedroom but can’t be listed as one because it has no windows.

ED: Is that the room you’ve set up as a dining room?MPS: Yes. I wanted to show off the flexibility of the apartment. For example, most of us don’t have the space to dedicate a bedroom to occasional visitors. So after conversations with Designer Visions’ executive director, Alana Frumkes, I decided to turn the second bedroom into an office and the “auxiliary” room off the entrance into a dining room. Since dining rooms are used mostly at night, the lack of a window was not a big deal.

ED: Is it more or less difficult to design a place without a client?MPS: That depends on the client. Some are great, of course, but there are nightmare clients too. Either way, the client gives me the clues I need to do my job. I like to say that I can walk into a room and immediately think of five ways to do it, so I rely on client input to focus my thinking.